Feeling that Christi was the only person near me, I decided it was time to let loose and show this so-called deity what true power is. Without another word, I launched myself at him at bullet speed, rocketing a punch at his chest as a starting move. As I landed the first blow, he raised his arms to block, and the impact made a thunderous bang. The building's foundation shook, and he staggered back.

Sneering at me, he tore off his mask, revealing a shifting face of elemental attributes. Swirls of earth, water, air, and fire created an enraged but handsome visage on the being before me. “Do you know whom you are challenging, girl?" he asked. "I admit that was a powerful hit, but if that is all you have, then you are going to be sorely lacking. I am Drakenveld, the dark god of elemental chaos and strength.” Removing his cloak and stretching to his full height, he revealed his true form.

Drakenveld was a towering figure, appearing as a blend of various elemental forms. His body seemed to be made of a shifting combination of rock, flowing water, flickering flames, and swirling wind. He had glowing eyes that constantly shifted color to represent the different elements. Massive, stone-like arms exuded raw strength, while his form radiated a palpable aura of elemental energy.

“The world has become weak and corrupted," he continued, "and I yearn to return it to a primal, elemental state and purify it once again. I kidnap children, whom I see as the purest form of life, to harness their energy and cleanse the world. I am a necessary evil—a force of nature that is essential to restoring balance to a world gone awry. Your child, Christi, is not only pure but filled with the power of both heaven and hell, and she will give me the means through which I will attain all my goals.”

He monologued while I assessed the situation, deciding just how much of this building it would be necessary to keep standing.

“Hey, Captain Planet," I taunted, "what are you doing to keep Christi safe? What happens if you can no longer focus on protecting her?” I asked the dark god.

“Huh? Aren't you paying attention? Do you not see how futile your situation is? I can go all out if I want; her own power is protecting her from harm and has nothing to do with me. All I did was give her the catalyst that began the transformation. That shield is entirely her,” he replied, clearly irritated at my lack of reverence.

Flexing my entire body and allowing all my joints to pop from my neck down, I limbered up and got ready to finally go all out without holding back. “In that case, prepare to be disincorporated or decorporealized? I don't know the word, honestly. Just prepare to get turned into your energy form again and spend the next millennia reconstituting,” I warned. This time, I didn’t pull any punches.

Once again launching myself at the elemental deity, I spun a roundhouse kick towards his head with a bit more force than the previous punch. Raising his arms to block, he caught my kick on the rock coating of his left forearm, but my leg blasted through it, sending him like a cannonball into the concrete wall to his side, and then through three more walls after that.

Continuing after him, I began laying into him with punches and kicks, with him trying his best to block and failing more often than not. As I kept hammering down on him with punches, kicks, elbows, and knees, the building around us slowly started to crumble, destabilizing the foundation. He tried launching elemental attacks at me, but I just reinforced my body and pushed through them all, instantly healing any incidental damage he managed to inflict on me.

As the fight wore on, I finally decided I had done enough damage to scatter his divine energy state. I put a final, concentrated, energy-infused punch directly into his chest. I released a combination of my life and death energy into his center, overwhelming his divine energy, and the resounding explosion followed by an implosion finally made the support beams in the building collapse. Drakenveld was reduced to dust and energy.

Seeing the damage done to the building, I realized I needed to get Christi and get us out of there so I could figure out what was wrong with her. Looking around, I found the doorway to the room she was in, and busting my way through all the debris, I walked towards her as the building crumbled around me. It wouldn't be long before the skyscraper came down and caused mass devastation. Hopefully, the others had gotten the area evacuated, or this would turn out terribly.

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Just as I was about to reach the door, I felt a sucking power tug me towards it. Then I heard Christi scream, and it sounded like a demon and an angel being tortured simultaneously, followed by an explosion from where I knew she was in the room.

Fearing for Christi's safety, I redoubled my efforts, forcing my way through the debris with even more urgency. The building was disintegrating rapidly around me, but I couldn't afford to lose any more time—I had to reach her, and I had to reach her now.

Putting all my strength towards speed, I entered the room in the blink of an eye and finally found Christi on the floor, with huge chunks of the building lying around her, but no longer protected by the energy shell that had been around her. I scooped her up and felt an overwhelming source of divine and demonic energy radiating from her in equal measure.

Eyes fluttering open, Christi muttered, “Auntie Mara…” Then her eyes changed; the left eye going demonic black and the right a blazing white. Her body began to flail uncontrollably, and I had to put considerable effort into keeping her secure while also preventing her from harming herself. That's when things went even more wrong.

Hellfire began rolling off of Christi's left side, while holy fire began rolling off her right, as she continued to fight my grip on her. Lacking any other choice and with the building rapidly falling down on us, I decided there was only one course of action and it was a risk. With a final adjustment to get her in a manageable position, I began to run as fast as I could through the corridors and towards the exit we had come through.

Between me crashing through obstacles and Christi's fire burning through everything it touched, we were making the building fall even more rapidly than it should have. Using my flesh manipulation on my own throat, I made it so I would be able to project my voice much louder and clearer than normal as we neared the exit.

As the ground started to feel like a devastating earthquake, we finally reached the door out, and I dove through it, knocking the hinges off the walls, and shouted at the top of my lungs, “Damon! Tell Belinda to use that vial of my blood and create a portal to the most remote place she can, as far from people as possible, and do it right now! Christi’s power is out of control, and I need to contain her until I can help her control it.” Listening carefully and trying to filter out the noise, I heard his response far in the distance, confirming he was doing as I asked.

As the world outside began to churn in response to Christi’s uncontrolled power, I clung to her tightly, prepared to jump through the portal the moment it appeared. The tension was palpable as we waited for that critical lifeline to open, offering us a chance at safety and, hopefully, a way to help Christi regain control.

Finally, after what seemed like hours but was most likely only a minute, Damon yelled that the portal was open. Sprinting out of the crater that Christi’s fire had burned into the ground, I called out to him, “Everyone stand back, and have her close the portal as soon as I am through! It's not safe to be around her for any of you. My reinforced body is the only one that can handle this amount of Hellfire and Divine fire.” Again hearing Damon's confirmation, I picked up speed and headed directly towards his voice.

Moments later, I saw the portal and, without a moment's hesitation, I dove through with Christi in my arms. We rolled across the hot sand of a sun-beaten landscape. As I came to a stop and quickly rose to my feet, I looked around and recognized where we were and groaned.

"This is the Tabernas Desert," I muttered under my breath, dusting off my clothes as I stood. Known as Europe's only true desert, the Tabernas is an arid, unforgiving landscape in Spain, characterized by its dramatic rock formations and intense heat. It was remote and far from any populated area, which made it the perfect place to contain Christi’s volatile powers until I could help her regain control. It is also the first place I woke up and my oldest memory. Belinda must have used sympathetic magic and my link to this place to send us here.

Holding Christi close, I could feel the heat of her uncontrolled energy. It was a storm, wild and fierce, but I could also sense her in there, struggling to regain her footing in the tempest that was her own power.

"It's going to be okay, Christi," I whispered soothingly to her, as I looked out over the sun-scorched expanse. "We’re going to get through this, and I'm going to help you regain control. I promise."

With determination set in my eyes, I began to focus, preparing myself for the monumental task of guiding Christi back from the edge and teaching her to harmonize the divine and demonic energies within her. It was a daunting task, but I was resolute. For Christi, I would face down any challenge.